The workers are employed by Drax contractors Altrad and TEI.

The incentive bonus agreement will see 200 workers receive a bonus of £2.37 an hour from this month to April 2024 for repair and maintenance duties.

A total of 500 workers will then receive the same amount as an hourly bonus when the next Drax shutdown commences in April. All major industrial facilities, such as power plants, perform shutdowns for maintenance and performance reasons.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham, said: “The bonus pay deal at Drax is an excellent example of how Unite’s focus on jobs, pay and conditions is having a direct financial benefit for our members.”

The workers operate under the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry (NAECI). The bonus agreement was negotiated locally with Altrad and TEI without the need for industrial action.

However, thousands of NAECI workers across the country, including at Drax, are preparing to take strike action after suffering years of real terms reductions to their base rate of pay, which, unlike bonus agreements, is set nationally.

Unite regional officer Chris Weldon added: “This deal would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of Unite’s reps and members at Drax. Unite is determined to build on this deal and to continue to increase its industrial strength at the power station.

“It is now time for the employers’ side of the NAECI agreement to put forward an acceptable national offer for our members’ base rate of pay. This is the only way industrial action can be avoided.”